December 30, 2003

Environmental Watch: Groups launch new education program

OLYMPIA -- Representatives of Audobon Washington, the state departments of Natural Resources and Fish and Wildlife, and school districts and organizations are forming the Pacific Education Institute to improve student learning and test scores.

The Pacific Education Institute supports environmental education projects such as Fish and Wildlife's "Project Cat" in Cle Elum, where students are tracking radio-collared cougars. Representatives will meet next year to discuss funding and new projects. For details call Lynne Ferguson at (360) 352-1500.

Reindeer games: Caribou herd still endangered

SPOKANE (AP) -- The last wild herd of woodland caribou in the lower 48 states continues to struggle for survival.

Only 41 caribou were counted in the 2003 census within the Selkirk Mountains north of Spokane. This caribou herd was listed as endangered in 1983, and remains under pressure from loss of habitat and predation by cougars.

Between 1987 and 1998, 113 caribou were brought to the Selkirks. Without the transplants, the herd would be extinct, researchers say. Some caribou moved north, and others were killed by predators, were poached or died of unknown causes, officials said.

Scientists believe the herd must reach 200 caribou to survive on its own. They estimate the herd historically had 200 to 400 animals.

Mountain caribou were once found across the northern U.S., but logging and other human activities wiped out their habitat. Now they are limited to a remote area of the Idaho Panhandle, northeastern Washington and southern British Columbia.

Vegas to extend water intake in Lake Mead

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- With drought drying Lake Mead, water officials are hurrying plans to draw water from deeper in the reservoir that supplies almost all of southern Nevada's drinking water.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority approved spending up to $2.5 million to buy materials to attach a downward pipe to the water intake at the Hoover Dam complex on the Colorado River. The agency's board is scheduled to award the construction contract in January.

Officials estimate installation could cost $3 million to $5 million, and construction could begin in February, with completion in June.

Drought has dropped the lake to its lowest level since 1968. Plans call for the new pipe to extend 50 feet down from the highest intake, so both would draw water from about 1,000 feet.

The water authority needs approval from the National Park Service, the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

San Joaquin Valley opts to go to 'extreme'

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) -- Air quality regulators asked the Environmental Protection Agency to put San Joaquin Valley in the worst category for air pollution to meet federal air standards and avoid expensive sanctions.

Only Los Angeles is an "extreme" violator of federal ozone pollution standards. San Joaquin is the only region to seek the designation and has until 2010 to clear its air.

Failure to clean the air by 2005 would cost businesses $36 million in fees and cost the eight-county region $2 billion in federal highway funds.

Urban sprawl, limited public transportation and a lack of willpower by local air regulators have been blamed for making this one of the nation's most polluted regions.

The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District has never had a workable plan to clean smog. The district missed deadlines to comply with the Clean Air Act and EPA failed to act until environmental groups sued the agency for failing to enforce the law.

Business refills ink-jet printer cartridges

SEATTLE -- A new business in Northgate Mall and more than 100 other malls across the country court refills inkjet printer cartridges for about half the cost of a new one.

Island Inkjet also has locations in Auburn Supermall and five in Victoria, B.C., and plans to open 50 more outlets in Washington next year, according to the company.

The stores take about an hour to refill inkjet cartridges, hundreds of millions of which wind up in landfills. With proper care, according to the company, most inkjet cartridges can be refilled five to 15 times. For details visit www.islandinkjet.com.

Panel to discuss sustainability March 31-April 2

VANCOUVER -- Representatives of Shell Canada, Placer Dome Inc., Mountain Equipment Co-op and other companies will discuss the challenges of sustainability programs at the Vancouver Convention Exhibition Centre March 31-April 2, 2004.

For details on the eighth GLOBE environmental business summit visit www.globe2004.com.

Garbage dump powers federal laboratory

SEQUIM -- The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is using a garbage dump to power its Marine Sciences Laboratory.

To power the Sequim facility, the U.S. Department of Energy Laboratory laboratory is using electricity generated by a plant that uses methane gas from a regional sanitary waste landfill, according to PNNL.

The laboratory has also bought 2.7 million kilowatt hours of "green power," such as wind and solar power, for the Sequim facility and 9.3 million for its main campus in Richland.

Environmental workshops in Phoenix Jan. 22-23

PHOENIX -- The American Hazard Control Group -- an energy, governance and environmental consulting firm -- will hold a series of benchmarking workshops at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort in Phoenix Jan. 22-23.

The workshops are part of the 11-year series "Linking Leadership Councils with Company-Changing Energy, Materials and Environmental Initiatives." Sheryl Telford of DuPont, Stephen Jester of ConocoPhillips, Keith Miller of 3M, Steve Willis of Whirlpool and others will discuss "Making the Business Case for the Near Future." For details call Celeste Richie at (518) 583-9615.

Sweden, Denmark sustainability tour set

SEATTLE -- A Denmark-based sustainable energy and development consulting firm is leading a sustainability tour of Denmark and Sweden from March 27 to April 2 next year.

Representatives of CH2M Hill, Vulcan, CollinsWoerman and other organizations are attending the grnNRG (pronounced "green energy") tour. The tour will focus on stormwater management, energy- and water-efficiency, indoor environmental quality, materials and resources, economics, corporate responsibility and transportation.

The Denmark and Sweden urban planning offices are helping organize the tour, and the Seattle city council and mayor's office invited the study group to discuss its findings. For details contact Patricia Chase of grnNRG Consulting at particia@grnNRG.com.